Hearing about Battleblock Theater is my Ratatouille food critic moment. I haven’t thought about it in nigh on a decade, but seeing Hatty Hattington’s square head and crying eyes takes me back to a much simpler time. Games dared to be weird, colorful, and embraced couch co-op in a way modern PC games typically don’t. Sure, you can find each of those elements across countless releases these days, but how often do all three come together as one? Just thinking about Battleblock Theater has me wanting to jump back in, so it’s lucky then that there’s a massive Steam discount and impending free update, isn’t it?
If you’ve never played Battleblock Theater, here’s the deal. You take control of cute and colorful cartoon characters across 2D platforming challenges and puzzles, with every single block you cross holding a deadly trap. There are spikes, mines, cannons, lasers, lava, teleporters, and countless other blocks to contend with. It’s simple in concept, but is held together by a bright visual style and delightful narrative.
Developed by Alien Hominid and Castle Crashers studio The Behemoth, the platform game starts with the crew of the S.S. Friendship being shipwrecked on an island with a theater at its center, only to then be imprisoned by cats and forced into their games. Now, over ten years after it came to Steam, a free update is on the way with plenty of enhancements.
The Behemoth is adding higher resolution, modern frame rates, better audio bitrates, bug fixes, and support for even more controller types in the near future. Over ten years since it first came to Steam, Battleblock Theater is getting the enhancements it deserves.
It’s not just Battleblock Theater getting the love either. The Behemoth is planning PlayStation ports for Alien Hominid, and a new Castle Crashers DLC called Painter Boss Paradise is on the way too.
You can play through the Battleblock Theater story alone or with a friend, go head-to-head in an arena mode, and even make and share your own levels. Battleblock Theater has the chaos of Overcooked and Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, but with a decidedly wackier edge to it. You’ll get hit by spikes. Die. Fall in the water. Die. Explode on a mine. Die. Get pushed off the edge by your closest childhood friend. Die.
If you’re looking for another co-op experience to ruin friendships with after Portal 2, look no further than Battleblock Theater. The stakes are low, the challenges get really hard, and you can always set up your co-op partner for death. What more could you ask for?
Don’t just take my word for it though, as Battleblock Theater has some incredible Steam reviews. Over 53,000 players rate the game at an average of 97% positive, getting it to the coveted ‘overwhelmingly positive’ status on Valve’s platform.
Battleblock Theater is 70% off on Steam until Monday July 29, so expect to pay $4.49 / £3.29 until then. There’s no telling when the free Steam update will arrive, but you can keep an eye on the game right here.
We’ve also brought together plenty more co-op games and multiplayer games you need to try in the meantime.
You can also follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides, or grab our PCGN deals tracker to net yourself some bargains.